Vampire Girl
by ForzaOUAT
Summary: House has a new case that may force him to rethink old ideals about life ...and love.
1. Chapter 1

House, MD

Standard disclaimers ...House is MINE, MINE, MINE and you can't have him back. Muhahahahaha

Vampire Girl

Chapter One

It wasn't a particularly special day. It was icy, snowing and Gregory House, MD did not, for any reason, want to be at work. He was, therefore, inclined to do whatever was necessary to hide. Up to and including hiding out in the clinic. Which is exactly where he currently was when his pager went off. He sighed and ignored it. When it went off for the third time, he gave up and glanced down. Whatever he saw there was enough to force him in to action. He hopped up and thumped out of the clinic to the elevator as fast as his leg would allow.

When he arrived at the room designated by the page, Cuddy was already there. She had a smirk on her face that clearly said 'I told you so' directed at Foreman. Foreman just shook his head at looked back down at the young woman lying in the bed.

She was pale, which wouldn't be out of the ordinary considering her current location, except that she seemed far paler than she should be given what House could only assume was a Native American ancestry. Her hair was long, straight and black. Not the kind of black that gave off red highlights in the sun, but the kind of black that seemed to be an abyss of darkness. Black with blue highlights when hit correctly with the light. She might have been 5'7; it was hard to tell with her lying down. She was muscular; built like an athlete. Probably 140 pounds. Attractive. She was also unconscious.

House moved across the room and raised an eyebrow at Foreman. "Vampire?" The sarcasm dripped from the one word.

Foreman stepped back and allowed House to get closer. "That's what she says."

"And she's unconscious, why?"

"Seizure. We had to sedate her."

House scoffed. "Aren't vampires supposed to be immune to disease and stuff? Not to mention incapable of being sedated?"

Foreman's gaze came up and settled on House. "She's not a vampire."

"You just said she was a vampire."

"I said she said she was a vampire."

"So she's not a vampire?"

"That's what I just said, House." Foreman's voice was getting louder and obviously agitated.

House grinned. "So what is she then?"

"Sick."

"Yeah, duh. Thanks for that obvious conclusion."

Foreman sighed. "Well, obviously she's not really a vampire."

"How do you know? Did she fail to burst in to flame on her way over here?"

"Actually, " Foreman sighed heavily. "She has burns on her arms and face."

At this point, Cuddy cut in before House irritated Foreman into taking a swing at him. "From the sun."

House frowned at them both. "It's porpheria. I'm going back to sl… the clinic."

"We checked for that." Cuddy handed the file to House. "It isn't porpheria."

"Allergy."

Cuddy smiled and delivered the coup de gras. "She's 57 years-old."

House actually had to look behind him at Cuddy to see if she was joking. She apparently wasn't. "She's lying."

Cuddy looked insulted. "Do you honestly think we didn't check that?"

House looked back at the girl …woman …girl. "Again I say it's porpheria."

"It would explain some of her symptoms," Foreman cut in , "but the tests were negative."

House stared at vampire girl for a moment and finally looked back up. "Run the tests again." He reached out and pulled one corner of her lip up. Sure enough, she had to sets of elongated, sharpened canines. If they were dentures, he couldn't tell by just looking. They were professionally done. "Test her teeth, hemoglobin, red cell count …" House paused and Foreman headed for the door. "Test her for hyperglycemia."

Cuddy smiled, confident that House was suitably challenged, and left. Foreman was about to do the same when House realized what was wrong. "Where are Cutthroat Bitch and 13?"

Foreman paused and shrugged. "Last time I saw them they were down in the ER."

House made a noise of annoyance. "They are getting far too much exposure to Cameron. I don't need another Cameron on my team. 13 is too nice already."

"So, you've pretty much decided on 13?"

House, realizing his mistake, sidestepped. "No, she just seems the more likely to get nicer. You don't honestly think Cutthroat Bitch is going to get nice on us, do you?"

"Her name is Amber."

"Whatever."

"Good lord, House. Do you even know that girl's name?"

"Allison?"

"That's Cameron's first name."

"Lisa?"

"Cuddy's."

"James?"

Foreman laughed. "I didn't think so. Do you want me to page them?"

"And deprive them of my presence? Never."

"You just want an excuse to go down there."

House graced Foreman with a long, hard, look.

Foreman continued to smile. "The look only works if I'm wrong."

"I can still fire you."

House heard Foreman's voice as he left the room. "No you can't."

House wandered down to the ER to retrieve his two missing underlings. He was a little disappointed that Dark Religious Guy …he paused, trying to remember the kid's name, but failed, was gone. Damn Foreman, anyway. DRG would have made much better fodder, but he had to think about his son first. And Foreman, being …well, Foreman, had suggested that this particular position might not be the best thing for DRG's boy. House was far too demanding. That on top of the fact that DRG had apparently made a deal with the devi ...Cuddy. It was probably best that he was gone.

Then again, he supposed it was more or less his fault that Foreman had returned in the first place. He was a damn fine doctor with excellent instincts (not that House was about to admit that) but he had become very much like House himself had been; still was. Unlike House, however, Foreman was practicing at a time when malpractice insurance was so high, and regardless of outcome, lawsuits were so common, that hospitals were wary of taking any chances in regard to patients. In Houses' opinion, more people died because of dumb administrators than anything doctor's did to them.

Fortunately for them both, Lisa Cuddy was one in a million. She allowed House the freedom to practice like he wanted to; many times willing to try something that was out of the ordinary if there was no other alternative. Houses' reputation was what it was because of Cuddy. People didn't like him, but they respected his opinion and generally followed where he led. Foreman was one of the latter. He had followed, learned, and ingested everything House had taught him and was completely capable of functioning on his own. The fact that he'd been driven back to Princeton because of stupid, close-minded admin's pissed House off more than he'd willingly admit.

When he finally reached the ER it was surprisingly quiet. While several patients were either being wheeled to or lying on gurneys, it was not as hectic as it should be on a day like this. Perhaps it was a slow day …or perhaps the storm had simply not arrived yet. House was betting on the latter. He peered around, attempting to locate the women. Honestly, how hard could it be to pick out two blonds and a brunette in this small of a space?

It wasn't. The trio were huddled by the coffee pot on the computer hub talking quietly. Cameron glanced up, caught his eye, and smiled, quickly bringing the conversation to a close.

House approached then and held up a blue file folder. "Got a case."

13 and Cutthroat Bitch looked at Cameron. 13 took the file and the two women walked away together.

House turned to Cameron. "You're turning them against me, aren't you?"

Cameron faced him and met his eyes. Hers were sparkling with mirth. House couldn't remember the last time she'd fully met his eyes. Being in the ER, or being away from him, or both, had changed her. She was far more confident, and he found it seriously attractive.

"They're both concerned." Cameron paused a moment to watch the bewilderment fill his face. He was almost certain he hadn't done anything seriously bizarre today …yet. "About their jobs, House."

Bewilderment turned to understanding. "With Chase coming back, only one of them will survive. That sort of thing?"

Cameron nodded.

"How are things going with Chase?"

Cameron was caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. "Are you trying to change the subject?"

House smirked and looked down, into her face. "Trying to seduce me with that smoldering gaze?"

Cameron paused and then smiled with mischief. "Yes."

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Same Disclaimers ...I know it's kinda short. Sorry. It was all I had typed up at this moment.

Gregory House had been many things in his life; at a loss for words had never been one of them. At this moment, however, he had absolutely no idea how to respond to Cameron's blatent pass. Or was it a pass? Was she joking? What if she was serious and he regarded her with the same general sarcasm he always did? Would she take it back? And why on earth should it matter if she did? He didn't want her to take it back. Okay, but she would expect the sarcasm, right? If he acted serious she might freak out. He wasn't serious about anything.

"Wilson would be so jealous."

He almost sighed. He was simply incapable of being serious. He was going to have to work on that.

Cameron paled a little. "Wilson? Wilson …likes me?"

House gave in to his base nature. "No. He's in love with me. Can't you tell? You can't have him, he's mine."

Cameron shook her head and started laughing. In that moment, something in Houses' chest loosened. She wasn't angry; she wasn't running. That was good. "So that woman in accounting is just a front for his deep desire toward you?"

House leaned in conspiratorily. "She's a man in drag."

Cameron laughed louder. "Of course she is."

As the laughter subsided, her eyes became somber, staring directly into his. He felt annoyingly like a deer trapped in headlights. She reached out a hand. It hovered close to his face, never quite touching. "I've missed you, House."

He was about to make another acerbic joke when the storm he'd been expecting broke out over the ER and she was pulled away. He had an almost overwhelming desire to follow her- to say something, be it rude or not. He checked that feeling when his pager went off. Vampire girl was awake.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, y'all are so cool. Thanks for the reviews. It's sort of addictive.

When House arrived at her room, Chase and Foreman were valiantly trying to prevent her from removing the bandages on her arms and face. He stood there watching in amusement for several moments until she shoved Chase so hard that he literally skidded across the room and slammed into the opposite wall.

She eyed Foreman with the palest golden eyes House had ever seen. At first glance, one might think her blind, but the scathing look she was giving Foreman negated that assumption. They were truly amazing; like sun glinting off the sand. Her irritation at the two doctors was very clear in the reddish color that kept flashing through them. If House had to use an adjective, he'd almost say …murderous.

Foreman had managed to keep a hold on her arm, but it was a losing battle as she pinned him with those pale eyes. "You want to be next?" Foreman caught Houses' eye.

House was attempting not to laugh while this slip of a girl …woman …whatever, beat up his doctors. "I'd take her seriously if I were you."

Foreman backed off. "Fine. When her burns get infected …"

He was about to climb on his favorite soapbox; something about patients thinking they know better than doctors, but House cut him off. "You know. I understand that vampires are resilient and all, but trust me when I say you have serious burns. If you pull those bandages off they are going to hurt, and just destroy that whole tough-gal thing you've got going on."

Her eyes flickered over to House and locked on his face. "Tell you what, if they hurt, I'll let you redress them."

"Oh …medical terminology, are you a doctor?"

Vampire girl shrugged.

House sighed heavily. "Why is it that everyone who can use Web MD thinks they know better than the actual doctors. We _did_ go to school for this kind of thing. See it all the time. I kid you not."

Vampire girl gave him a scathing look that didn't faze him at all. "You know the medicine, I grant you, but I damn well know my own body."

House looked at Chase who had managed to get up and appeared none the worse for wear, though he did stay at a healthy distance away from her bed. "Take them off."

"It'll hurt her."

"But she _said_ she knows. I suggest we prove she doesn't know so we don't have to deal with this crap anymore."

Chase walked toward her with caution and she shook her head. "Take it easy, pretty boy, I promise not to bite."

He sighed. "We should give her a sedative."

House rolled his eyes. "That defeats the purpose of our not having to deal with her crap. Try to stay with me, Chase."

Against his better judgement, Chase cut the bandages off. Vampire girl smirked as he exposed the skin. It was no longer burned. Red …feverish, but not burned. It was healing. She looked at House. "Yep, not a doctor, you know best …got it."

Foreman, Thirteen, Cutthroat Bitch and House were all in his office. House was staring at the symptoms he'd written on the wipeboard. 57 years-old, burns in sunlight, rapid healing, seizures, fangs. The last one was his favorite. Chase walked in, glanced at the board, and then turned to face House. "Negative for Hyperglycemia, red count is low, no hemophilia and _again_ negative for all forms of porpheria."

"Necrophilia?"

Everyone looked up at House who shrugged. "Well, she is a vampire. The living dead and all. What about her teeth?"

"They're real." Chase dumped a stack of papers on the table. "I don't know what to tell you. She has every symptom of vampirism."

"The exception being that vampirism is not a diagnosis. More of a life choice. What else?"

Thirteen had been thumbing through the papers. "What if we attribute the fangs and age to her genetics and the rapid healing to her diet."

House paused and stared at Thirteen, wondering once again if he was just hiring women because they were beautiful. "Yes, because blood is so good for your health."

Chase, however, was reading over her shoulder. "You may have a point. She has a very specific diet."

Thirteen gestured at the pages in front of her. "This particular diet was published about 20 years ago to promote an ability to heal faster because it gives the body the exact nutrients, in very exact amounts, that it requires to function. This could explain the blood too."

House hated to admit it, but he was actually interested. "How?"

"Several of the minerals in this diet, like copper, can't be ingested directly. Blood would give you the nutrients you'd be lacking in order to keep this diet up. Especially if you were convinced you were a vampire. It's complicated. I've never known anyone who could stick to it completely since some of these minerals are hard to obtain …but not if you drink blood."

"She can't just take a multivitamin like everyone else?"

Thirteen shrugged. "Wouldn't be very vampirish of her, now would it?"

House glanced at Thirteen. "I don't think vampirish is a word."

She laughed. "Whatever."

Cutthroat Bitch shook her head. "So she's crazy. That's basically what we're saying. We should refer her to psyche."

"I don't think psyche would appreciate a seizing vampire." House looked back at the wipeboard and drew lines through her age, fangs and sunlight. "We know the sunlight is an allergy. We're guessing the healing is her diet and the fangs and the reason she looks about 30 years-old …if that, are genetics?"

"Well, it sounds stupid when you say it like that."

House almost smiled at Thirteen, but Chase chose that moment to chime in, "It all fits. What about the seizures, though?"

The room was silent for several moments. Foreman finally stood and approached the board. "Only one of the conditions she appears to have are medically applicable. Diet and genetics are not really our problem. We can't fix those. We can treat her for the allergy …see if it helps the seizures. Maybe she was just in pain."

House nodded. "Start her on hydroxychloroquine. Keep an epi shot nearby incase she goes into shock."

Everyone stood, but House shouted, "Wait!"

They all looked at him expectantly. "Why was her red cell count so low?"

"Depends on how much blood she drinks."

House nodded. "It would have to be a lot, though. How come she doesn't get …"

House looked at his team and then walked out the door. Chase and Foreman both sighed and followed. Chase looked back at the two women who appeared completely confused and smiled. "You'll get used to it. Come on."


	4. Chapter 4

I get the feeling that y'all like the romance more than the medicine. It's all good, we're getting there. Please continue to review …I think it's cool. I just want it to go on record that of all the characters I've ever written in Fan Fiction; House has got to be the hardest. I have the deepest respect for the folks who write that television show week in and week out (though not right now because of the writer's strike).

Okay, so I work a 4 on, 4 off schedule, which means, I'll be back on Friday. See everyone then.

Vampire Girl

Chapter 4

House burst into the girl's room. "Vampire Girl!"

"Jade."

"Vampire Girl. What would happen if I put you in a room with windows?"

Jade looked confused, paused, and finally shrugged.

"Don't be shy. Fire, flames, burn to ash, what?"

"Why?"

House rolled his eyes as if the question should be entirely obvious (which, technically, it was). "I notice that you haven't had any reaction to the lights in this room. If it was a photosensitivity to light, you'd burn under any light. These have UV's in them too. So I ask again. Outside? Sunlight? Smoldering? Smoke? What?"

"Sunburn." Jade pinned those unusually pale eyes on the doctor who was beginning to creep her out. He was just so …strange, and coming from her, that meant a lot.

House nodded as if this answered all of his questions and turned to head for the door. He turned back around suddenly, as if he were trying to startle her. Jade sat there and stared at him like he was insane. "Where do you get the blood?"

Her eyes snapped with irritation. "I beg your pardon?"

"You drink blood, I know you drink blood, let's dispense with the innocent act. Where do you get it?"

"Is it important to why I'm here? I feel fine, the burns are gone. I promise to stay out of the sun, can I go?"

"And release a predator onto the unsuspecting public? I think not."

It was somewhere in the middle of this conversation that the rest of the team managed to catch up to House. Frankly, they were amazed that he managed to move as quickly as he did.

House narrowed his eyes, as if considering something. "Where do you get it?"

Jade's voice rose with her frustration. "What does it matter?"

Since it seemed likely they were about to erupt into a full out brawl, Foreman stepped in. "Although it may seem like he's insane …" Foreman paused to let that hang in the air for a moment as Jade's eyes fell on him. "He usually has a good reason for asking."

"I get it at a blood bank, okay? Are we all happy now?"

House gave her a look of mock confusion. "They pass it out?"

Jade remained silent and House nodded. "You work there. Phlebotomist?"

Her eyes came up quickly, surprised by his insight. "How …"

"It fits. You'd have to screen the blood to be sure it was safe and had the minerals you need. Wow. Vampire working in a blood bank. Kind of poetically ironic, don't you think? Do you screen the blood for anything else?"

"I don't screen it at all; my body is incapable of contracting …"

House sighed. "We don't have time for the vampire crap right now."

"I want to leave."

"I don't care."

Thirteen approached her bedside as she sighed heavily. "You're sick, Jade. You need help."

"Yeah, probably help that we can't give her." House turned and gave Cutthroat Bitch (here after known as Amber) a look that said she had seriously screwed up and he would deal with her at a later time.

Jade's eyes flashed. "I'm not crazy." She sucked in another deep breath, and House moved a little closer to the bed, watching her. "I want to leave. I'm fine."

When she took the third deep breath, House looked expectantly at his team.

"Hello? Respiratory failure. Chop, chop."

As Jade gasped and struggled to pull in a decent breath, the team sprang in to action. House watched for a moment, and then headed for the door. "Okay, so you guys keep her alive, and keep your necks at a safe distance …" he paused and looked at Chase. "And don't let her beat you up. I'll go find out what's wrong with her."

Several hours later, after staring at the symptoms on this wipe board until he felt like his eyes were going into shock, House found himself back down in the ER. As much as he hated to admit it, he missed Cameron's presence on the team. Her caring and morality offset his blatant disregard for people. And he was curious (and only curious, not in any way interested) about the conversation they had started before the wave of causalities had come in.

While the ER was still awash with people in some form of pain or another, Dr. House was hard to miss. He was, after all, tall …superbly attractive, okay well that last part was just him, but he was tall and could see over the heads of just about everyone. This, he supposed, was why Cameron noticed his presence so quickly. Not that she was waiting for him to come back or anything.

She smiled and said something to the EMT she was talking to. A man who, in Houses' opinion, was definitely not her type. She made her way toward him and he felt suddenly awkward, as if he shouldn't be there at all.

"Hey." Cameron met his eyes and smiled again.

That smile would someday be his undoing. House shook off that thought and nodded. "Hey."

"How's your vampire girl?"

"Come back to the team."

The comment (request?) caught her so off guard she didn't know what to say. She wanted, with every fiber of her being, to say 'yes'. And that was the response that rose to her lips; almost came out of its own volition before she managed to stop it. "I can't."

Their eyes met, each burning into the other, trying to understand what was happening, and why it never seemed to go away. "Why?"

There was a silent, tense, pause between them as answers to that question swirled through her mind.

'I'm in love with you and I can't stand the thought of working so close to you again. I want you and your presence is distracting. Being in the same room with you constantly is not good for my sanity. Being in the same building with you is bad enough because I want to leave the ER and find you every moment of every day?'

And yet, not one of these honest answers came out. What she did say was, "I like the ER."

House looked skeptical. She probably looked guilty.

They stared at one another, and while nothing was said, a great deal of information was exchanged in that one look.

"Vampire Girl is on a respirator."

Cameron almost sighed with relief. No matter what he had concluded a moment before, he was going to let it go …for now. She had no illusions that he would leave it hanging forever. He was like a dog with a chew toy. At this moment, however, he seemed willing to let it pass. After all, he had Vampire Girl to keep him busy.

"What happened to her?"

To House, it was obvious that Cameron did not want to talk about anything personal right now. He didn't say what he was thinking. He didn't say that she was a bright light in his world of darkness. He didn't say that she might be the only person who kept him honest. He definitely didn't say he missed her. What would it accomplish anyway? She didn't want to come back to him. She didn't want to come back to _work for _him. He grimaced at the Freudian slip, even if he only thought it. She was happy here, and she was happy with Chase. Wasn't she?

"Respiratory failure."

"Any ideas about what caused it?"

"Besides that she drinks blood and her body is therefore a swamp of useless minerals?"

"Did you try a blood transfusion?"

House actually allowed himself to smile. "In the process of."

Cameron paused. "Is it not helping?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh, right." Cameron caught on. "You won't know if her blood is the problem until you take her off the respirator, and you can't do that if her blood is not the problem."

House nodded and Cameron stood silent for a moment. He could see her brain running through symptoms, formulating diagnoses, discarding them, and formulating another one. It was horribly attractive. So much so that he was forced to look away lest he grab her and start kissing her there in the ER. His mind gave him a fabulous visual of Cameron in his arms, moaning things into his ear that he never thought Cameron capable of uttering.

When she finally focused her eyes back on him, she started to smile. "Are you blushing?"

"It's hot in here."

"Right. Well, I think we can safely assume she's not a vampire."

"Given that she hasn't eaten anyone today." House fell back into his sarcasm and focused back on his patient. Obviously, focusing on the woman in front of him was not healthy.

"Ruled out porpheria, I assume."

House nodded. "All types."

"Anaphylactic Shock?"

"No sunlight in the room."

"There are UV's in lights too."

"That's what I said. So, how does she react to sunlight, but not the lights in her room?"

Cameron shrugged. "Maybe she's not allergic to sunlight. The sun gives out more that just UV rays."

House's brain clicked on like a light bulb. Before he had the chance to think about it or prevent himself from doing something so obviously stupid, he had leaned forward and kissed Cameron's lips lightly. "Thanks."

With that, he turned and limped out the door, leaving Cameron standing there staring at the spot he had just vacated. What in the hell had just happened? He had kissed her. _He had kissed her._ What on earth had she done to deserve that and how did she convince him that repeating it …often …would be a good idea?


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter is more based on the medical stuff. Sorry ...the romance is coming, but not today. Please review ...it makes me feel special.

"You guys are lousy doctors." House had returned to his office. His team was seated around the table throwing diagnoses around. Not one of them had come up with something decent in at least an hour.

They looked up as House entered. He shook his head in mock disappointment. "We give, we teach, we put a roof over your heads and this is the thanks we get."

Everyone eyed him with frustration. Amber looked furious. "We can't …"

House cut her off. "Thirteen, Chase …go forth and take Vampire Girl off the ventilator. Her blood should be fine now."

"What if she's not fine?" Sometimes, House didn't understand how Chase made it through medical school. "What if she goes into arrest?"

"In a hospital? Your right could be dangerous. Foreman, go with them so a doctor will be present."

The three of them rose and exited the room. House gave Amber a scathing look. She seemed genuinely baffled by his anger. "What?"

"You do know you're a doctor and not on a game show, right?"

"This is a game."

"Whether you get fired or not is a game. The patients are never a game."

Amber raised a quizzical eyebrow and House conceded. "The patients are _almost_ never a game."

"I want to find the diagnosis as much as you do."

"I believe you, but I didn't realize you had a PhD in Psychology, that's very type-A personality of you."

Amber looked confused. "I'm not a psychologist, House."

He leaned over the table and brought himself within inches of her face. She could see the anger in his eyes. For whatever else House did to amuse himself, he did care. He might have a bizarre way of showing it, but it was there. "You never call the patients crazy when you're with them in the room. We have to treat these people, we make them better."

"She is crazy."

Houses' voice rose. "I _know_ she's crazy. It's just not your job to tell her." House paused, and then backed off a little. "That's my job."

Amber stood up. "We need to refer her to psyche."

"I thought you wanted to find the diagnosis."

Amber raised her voice, which in hind sight was probably not her best move. "That _is_ her diagnosis."

House stood silent, watching her. Surely she wasn't serious. When she did not speak again, House realized that she was, in fact, serious. Where was the curiosity? Where was that need to solve cases? Had he so stressed out his two remaining candidates that they didn't care anymore? No. Thirteen cared. She was still trying, so why had Bitch suddenly given up on this woman?

"Why are you giving up on her?"

"Because she needs help we can't give her."

House shook his head. For whatever reason, she had decided that respiratory arrest wasn't enough of a problem to care. He glanced down at the carpet, and finally, back up at her. "You're fired."

She was so stunned; she didn't speak for several moments. "What? Why? Because some crazy woman is drinking blood, which is really unhealthy?"

"No. Because our patients come before the game. You wanted to dismiss her. You wanted to go on to the next case to show me how smart you are. You have a case right in front of you and you can't see it. I can't have people who are willing to give up on even one crazy person. It would completely defeat the purpose of the diagnostics department."

Amber turned on her heel and stormed out the door. House sighed. He'd kind of been getting used to Bitch being around. Well, at least Cuddy would be happy. The team was complete.

As Foreman turned off the ventilator and removed the tube from Jade's throat, Chase looked perilously close to having a stroke. For the length of several heartbeats which must have seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. Finally, she gasped, coughed and then gagged. Thirteen helped her sit up and drink a little water. "Take it easy. You're going to be fine."

"What?" Jade rasped the question and Chase answered.

"You went into respiratory failure. You've been on a ventilator to help you breathe."

Jade motioned for Chase to come closer. He did, but with serious caution. She reached up and pulled his head closer so she could speak quietly. "Duh. What caused it?"

Chase actually stared at her for several moments. Was it possible that she was Houses' long lost …he paused in his thought process. This woman was not as young as she appeared. It seemed they had all forgotten that.

"We need to scan her lungs."

Both Foreman and Thirteen turned away from the patient to stare at him. They asked the same question at the same time. "Why?"

Chase looked at Jade. "The blood bank where you work …is it in a basement?"

Jade nodded.

"How long have you worked there?"

Her voice was still raspy, but getting stronger. "30 years, give or take."

Chase smiled. "Jade, you're going to be fine. We'll be back in to check on you in a while."

Jade simply smiled and lay back on her pillows. By the time they left the room, she was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay people …listen (or read, technically) up! Reviews …reviews …reviews …tell me I'm great, tell me I suck, tell me I'm definitely not a doctor (which I'm not), whatever, but tell me something …hey, it makes Cameron and House frisky …in my strange and bizarre world.

"It's Legionnaires," Chase announced promptly upon the teams return to the office.

House took out his earbuds and looked Chase up and down. "You're an idiot."

Chase shook his head. "It fits. She worked in a basement blood bank. She could easily have picked up various bacteria and molds from the duct work or it may have bad ventilation. It would cause the respiratory problems."

"Fine. Go to the blood bank and check it for toxins. Thirteen and Foreman, go test her for Polymorphous Light Eruption."

All three doctors looked stunned. They still didn't quite understand how he managed to pull really cool, probably accurate, diagnoses out of his ass like that. House smirked. "Go, go, do, be …get out."

Thirteen paused at the door. "Where is Amber?"

"Gone. Your welcome."

"House …"

"Get out!"

Thirteen went, but she made it clear she wasn't happy about it.

House was sitting behind his desk, one leg propped up and strangely unhappy when Cameron showed up. He had his diagnosis, she'd need psychiatric help, but she was going to live. Why didn't he feel better about that?

"House?"

"Why do people say names in the form of a question? Isn't it fairly clear that I am House?"

Cameron paused at the door. She didn't know what was wrong, but every fiber of her being wanted to reach out to him. She sighed. He'd probably think she was soft, and trying to fix him, and all of the many other things he managed to come up with to keep her at a distance.

He knew she was still there, even though his eyes were closed. He could feel her humming presence throughout his body. His mind flashed back to several hours ago in the ER. Good God …had he kissed her? He quite distinctly remembered their conversation, but after that moment, it got hazy. Yet, he could still taste her lightly on his lips; could still feel the slight pressure and the warmth of her breath on his face. It took him a moment to wrap his brain around the realization that he actually had kissed her. What on earth had he been thinking?

No, he hadn't been thinking. That was the problem. He didn't think; he just acted. It was an instinctual action of thanks for her assistance. That sounded stupid …even to him. At the door he heard her sigh. She was going to leave and somehow, he couldn't allow that to happen.

"Wait."

He opened his eyes and she was still standing in the doorway. "Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Do you want me to leave?"

There was a pause, and then, "No."

"What is it that you do want, House?"

"Greg."

Cameron stopped cold. "What?" 

"I'm not your boss and my name is Greg."

"Okay. The question still stands."

House watched her. She wasn't entirely inside the room, but she wasn't outside of it either. It felt like they were both on a threshold and his next words would determine which way she went. He moved his leg gingerly off the desk and stood; his eyes never leaving her face.

He limped toward her, hoping she might meet him halfway, but this time, she didn't. He was going to have to go to her if he wanted to keep her there. She watched him, her eyes filled with both caution and challenge.

"What do you want …" she paused. "Greg."

He stopped in front of her, his eyes drilling holes all the way to her soul. They were beautiful eyes, that sparkling blue, clouded now with need and indecision. He looked up at the ceiling and for the first time ever, hoped for some kind of divine intervention. Something that might prevent this conversation from happening; because he somehow knew that this moment was going to change his life forever. Whether that change was good or bad seemed to be up to him.

He stood there, staring skyward for so long, that Cameron finally sighed heavily. She turned to leave, but his hand snapped out and caught her arm. Her eyes sparked with anger when she looked at him again. "You've made yourself perfectly clear."

He shook his head. "No. No I didn't."

In one fluid motion, he pulled her up against his chest and brought their lips together. It was a demanding kiss, something far removed from the one they'd shared before. It was filled with all the need, passion and desire that had plagued them both for several years. She wrapped her arms around him, and he sighed as her body pressed flush up against his. It was so perfect in that one moment. She belonged there, they fit together, perhaps they always had.

For several minutes of absolute peace, they clung to one another, somehow afraid that should they let go, this might never happen again. It was House who stopped himself and lifted his head. For an instant, she thought she saw something in his eyes that surprised even her, but as quickly as it appeared; it was gone and in its place came the fear. That all consuming fear that she was going to hurt him, and should that happen, he might never recover.

Cameron reached out to him, but he stepped out of her grasp. "I'm sorry, Cameron."

"Allison. Don't push me away."

House looked up into her young face. Thoughts and feelings warred across his expression until they settled on one. Resignation. "Pushing people away is all I know how to do."

"I don't believe that."

"No, not at this moment, but you will."

With that, he stepped away and receded into his office, allowing the darkness to swallow him whole. She didn't try to follow or pressure him. Something magnificent had happened here, and if he though she was giving up on him now, he was out of his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm interested in what you all think is going to happen from here. Thoughts? Contemplations? Reviews …yes, yes, reviews. Do that. Muhahahaha. It's a strange thing. I have something like 3,000 hits on this story but only 20 reviews ...now since I know you read, ergo you write too ...why do I only have 20 reviews. Kudos to those who took the time to gimme some feedback. Blah to the rest of ya. :P

Vampire Girl

Chapter 7

By the next day after an entire night of sitting at his piano and not playing a note, House had regrouped. What had happened the day before didn't mean anything. He didn't need Cameron …Allison. He was perfectly happy with his life the way it was.

He had come to this conclusion with his brain, and while his brain was cooperating (for the most part) his heart was painfully not buying this epiphany for a moment. Its mantra beat over and over. Do you want to live alone? Do you want to be alone? Are you willing to give up the love she is offering? If you turn away you will be alone. She's the best thing that's happened to you in more years than you can even remember. You'll wind up alone. Alone. Alone. Alone.

And then his brain would chime in. But, does she really love you? Doesn't she think you're just an injured puppy she can nurse back to health?

No, decided his heart, you are the one who said that. She never said anything of the sort.

Yes, but she did marry a dying guy.

True, but isn't it possible that she loved him? That she needed him as much as he needed her? The same way you need her.

I don't need her. I don't want her. She's young, and impulsive and …

She's the least impulsive person you know, Greg. Not to mention beautiful, and brilliant, and …

Right, right, but beautiful, brilliant women have a way of getting bored with me. _And_ she's half my age. _And…_

I don't deserve her.

Well, that's certainly true considering how you've been treating her for three years. It would seem, however, that she wants you anyway. You can't let this get away from you again. She's not going to come back a third time.

She didn't come back a second time. Nothing between us has changed. Okay, we kissed but it didn't_ mean_ anything.

You already said that.

Shut-up.

He had managed to silence his heart during that very long night and was in top form of jibe and sarcasm until …she walked in the door of his conference room.

She had a file in her hands and as she handed it to him she shot him a smile that had the annoying effect of dropping his heart into his shoes. Not to mention he had an overwhelming desire to smile back. He was really going to have to work on this. A lot.

His team watched this interaction with amusement. That is to say, _most_ of his team watched with amusement. Chase glowered at him; and then at Cameron.

House raised an eyebrow. "Everything not well in neverneverland?"

Cameron ignored them both.

"You were right. Polymorphous Light Eruption. She's being treated now. Should be good to go home in a couple of days."

"And you're delivering this news …why exactly?"

Cameron shot him another bone jarring smile and winked. "I bribed someone."

As Cameron left, all eyes fell on House. He blinked several times and stared back at them. "What?"

Foreman grinned. "Nothing. When can we release Jade?"

"She has to go to rehab first."

When Chase said this, everyone stopped looking at House and turned at stare at him. No one spoke for several moments and finally House shook his head. "I give up. Rehab?"

"She has a problem."

"A psychiatric problem."

"She has to stop drinking blood. We can kill two birds with one stone by putting her in rehab."

House stopped for several minutes and finally turned to Chase. "It won't help. Refer her to a psychiatrist and release her."

Thirteen looked up from Jade's file. "Chase is right. With the right kind of treatment …"

Houses' voice was dangerously soft. "She's not going to get better."

Thirteen tried to smile unsure whether he was joking or not. "Of course she will …we put her in rehab for the blood …which is, I grant you, bizarre, but …"

House rounded on all of them. His voice was perilously close to being a yell and he wasn't sure why. "_She's not going to get better_!"

"But …"

"But what? Did you even look at that girl Thirteen?"

"House…"

"Did you?"

"Yes. I don't see your point."

Where House seemed to be getting almost hysterical, Thirteen remained calm. House stared at her; the anger in his face unsettling. "No. I don't suppose you would."

Thirteen bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's a freak, Thirteen. Look at her. She's 57, but she looks 20. She's got _fangs_. She beat up Chase from a hospital bed. What would you call her?"

"She's not a freak, House. She has a choice."

House exploded. "What choice? Go back to what I can only assume was a lonely existence living inside during the daylight day after day? Living shunned by the world because she's different? She didn't have a choice. She could wander the darkness alone, or she could seek out others who accepted her like she was. What would you choose Thirteen? She found people who saw what she was and thought that made her special. She has to believe she's a vampire. She has to drink blood. It's all she knows, and it's what makes her life worth living. She's not going to go back to being nobody because as far as she's concerned dead is a hell of a lot better than alone."

House stormed out of the room, leaving three shocked doctors in his wake.


	8. Chapter 8

I am so very, very sorry

I am so very, very sorry. I, myself, have been in the hospital …okay, well not for the last, what? year, but it's complicated. Let's go with, I wished yesterday (I really did, admittedly on Demerol) but still, that Dr. House worked at the hospital I was in because of all the blood they kept taking. They apparently don't know a Dr. House, except for that one cool nurse who burst into hysterical laughter and said if he came into the hospital she was going to molest him whether he had a wife or not. Kinda had to be there. The sad thing is, really this story is almost over.

Vampire Girl

Chapter 8

House found himself back home, at his piano, playing …nothing, when someone knocked gently at his door. Assuming it was Wilson, come to berate him for yelling at his ducklings, he didn't move.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Come on in."

There were several beats of silence. The door opened, there was a brief pause, and then it closed. House sighed. His hope was that Wilson would just get this 'you can't go around yelling at them when they haven't done anything, it defeats morale' speech over with relatively quickly.

When he spoke, however, his voice was both too high and too feminine. "House?"

Still, he stared at the piano keys like there was something terribly important on them. "Wilson, when did you become a transvestite?"

A soft sigh was the only response.

The silence in the room stretched so long that House had to force himself not to start twitching. He did not hear the sound of the door. Apparently, she wasn't leaving.

"Will you please look at me?"

He shook his head back and forth several times. No he couldn't do that. It would confirm that _she_ was here and not Wilson, for one. It would also confirm that she was standing there; her soft eyes filled with either pity or tears, and at the moment, he could take neither.

"Okay."

Well, that was weird. He heard someone breathing, and the voice rang out from his kitchen.

"You want a drink for this conversation?"

House paused. Now he was confused. Conversation? At what point had he agreed to a conversation and why was he _still_ unable to look up? He paused for a moment to think as a glass landed in front of him. He was afraid. Fear spasmed through his stomach, making him slightly nauseous. It ate at his brain. It made him stupid and he hated that.

As he finally managed to get his gaze onto the glass, he could just see her outline through the thick crystal.

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk. Kinda went hard on your people today, didn't you?"

House flinched. Yes he had. In fact, he'd yelled at them for something that was entirely not their fault. Then again, he always blamed them, what else was new. Again, his brain paused …this was new. This feeling; as if there was something he knew right in front of him and he either couldn't or wouldn't reach out to see what it was.

He was sure if looked to closely, he'd find some flaw. Some problem in the equation that would make it fall apart. Usually that flaw was him.

"Thirteen told me what you said. I think you're right. She won't change. She can't change. If she changes, she's not special anymore. Isn't that right?"

He nodded, grasped the glass and took a deep swallow of …he sighed, water.

"That is what you meant, isn't it? Greg? That she has too much invested in the person she is right now to change. That the person who is 'her' would be somehow irrevocably altered?"

House stared at the glass of water in his hand so hard he was surprised it didn't splinter into tiny shards. Something painful enough to equal the pain forming in his traitorous heart.

"And yet, you know what? She told me she is going to try. She told me she can do without the blood since no one knows its blood anyway, she'll just get the transfusions like she's supposed to. Will it make her less of what she is? Jade doesn't seem to think so. See …she wants to live …isn't that amazing? Rather than just give up, go back to the blood, she is going to give life one more shot. More people should be willing to do that. That's just my opinion."

It was this that finally brought his deep blue eyes up to meet hers. And he was wrong. She had neither tears, nor pity, but rather, due more to her nature, he assumed, than anything he'd done, he saw hope. Hope that if Vampire Girl could make adjustments, perhaps he could too. Perhaps he would give life one more chance before he wrote it off in a haze of Vicodin.

"I don't know if I can."

Cameron moved closer, leaning so they were eye to eye. "Jade didn't say she could, she said she would try."

House stood in one fluid motion, bringing Cameron with him. His eyes sparked with an anger he didn't realize was there. "Why do I have to change? What possible reason could I have to want to be any different than I am now?"

Cameron smiled and set her glass on the piano as she turned for the door. "I wasn't talking about you changing, Greg. I was talking about Jade. I thought I made it clear quite some time ago that I would take you as is; whatever the cost."

She pulled the door open, but he was there, his hand preventing her from leaving. "What if I'm just not worth what you're willing to pay?"

She shrugged. "We all take chances. We can't learn and grow if we don't."

"So I'm your big charitable chance?"

Cameron laughed. "No. You are the man that I've fallen in love with."

And she moved his arms and walked out the door. House was so stunned, he couldn't move, or think, or …anything. The door hung open for several minutes before he could get it into his mind that he needed to close it.

She hadn't said falling …falling he could have dealt with. Falling, he could have talked her out of. Falling …hell, he could have talked himself out of that as well. But, she hadn't said falling …_fallen_. The word was as final as it was infinite.

He looked around his apartment for some kind of guidance. What on earth did he do now?


End file.
